Challenge Yourself -- Sketch It!

If you were here, I bet you would say, "I KNOW!! Totally unbelievable." And then *I* would say, "I seriously had no idea how incredible you all are." And then there would be an awkward pause because maybe you thought I was saying that I thought you all had the cookie decorating skills of a chipmunk. But nothing would be further from the truth because I already think you guys are fantastic and then you went and made those... gems of black and whiteness and now I'm all numb in my head because I can't quite understand how that much cookie decorating talent exists in a world where you can still find stale chocolate chip cookies on your grocer's shelves. But I would probably forget to tell you that part because of the aforementioned mind numbness.

And then since I don't actually want you to hate me, I would probably make you strawberry ice cream. It's pink and all. And I've got it on pretty good 2-year-old authority that only pink ice cream tastes like deliciousness. So... for you... I would make deliciousness.

And then I would abruptly change the subject because we have GOT to get talking about February's challenge. (Goodness, don't you know I've got a jillion things to do before I move? I can't just stand around talking about chipmunks and the color pink all day.)

This month's challenge is to SKETCH YOUR DESIGN before you cookie it. Sketch it any way you want to. Use a pen or a pencil or some super fancy, high-tech graphic art program (I'm looking at you Jill.) Trace around the cutter and then fill it with your design. Here's a hint -- if you are going to do lettering on your cookie, use a sharpie, not a pencil. The sharpie is about the width of a #1.5 tip. It will give you a better idea of letter spacing.

I also find it helpful to add some color. I like to see different ways to put my colors together, so I actually scan my drawings to my computer and then open them in my favorite paint program. I mix and match and play around with my designs and colors until I'm completely satisfied. And then I finish that laundry I've been avoiding all week because someone just rubbed the remains of their banana all over my pants. And I don't do laundry until I'm out of pants.

Really quick, before I show you the prizes for this month... While I was making these cookies, I was thinking that if I just added a plum colored icing to the mix, this would be the PERFECT gender neutral color palette for baby cookies. Don't you think?

Okay... prizes!!

This is one of my favorite sketch books. (Yes, I have more than one.) So whoever wins is going to get one of these. And a eraser stick. Because I want one. Because you really can't ever have too much eraser when you are designing cookies.

AND... Karen and Mike from Karen's Cookies have donated a $30 gift card for the winner as well!

FEBRUARY CHALLENGE GUIDELINES

1. You must sketch your design before making the cookies. This is kind of on the honor system here. You don't *have* to post your sketches unless you want to. (I'm kind of insanely curious about these things though and would love to see them if you can find a way to make it work.)
2. Please make a new set of cookies for this challenge instead of linking to a set you made previously. You have an entire month. There's no rush here.
3. Post a link to your photo down below before midnight on February 28th.
4. You may enter as many sets as you like, as long as you sketched them before creating them.
5. Not actually required -- but if at all possible, please make time this month to blend strawberries and vanilla ice cream together and eat it while no one is watching.
6. Winner will be drawn via random.org.

LilaLoa

The Cookie Artist

Georganne Bell is the mess maker and cookie decorator behind the cookie blog LilaLoa. Obsessed with color and texture, she has been experimenting and creating with cookies and icing since 2010. She also gives plenty of unsolicited advice and occasionally does laundry before it becomes strictly necessary.

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